Wheel.



F, A. PROMMANN.

WHEEL. APPLICATION rILEDfsEPT.9,1910.

Patented Nov. 21, 1911 3 SHEETS-SHEET 1.

21 6 /N VEN TOR lllil IIIIIII.. lili Fl? NKL/N W afn/Q6 F. A. FROMMANN.

WHEEL.

APPLICATION FILED SEPT. 9, 1910.

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1 WHEEL.

Specification of Letters Patent.

Patented Nov. 21, 1911.

Application led September 9, 1910. Serial No. 581,294.

To all 'whom 'it may concern:

Be it known that I, FRANKLIN A. FROM- MANN, a citizen of the United States, residing at St. Louis, Missouri, have invented a certain new and useful Improvement in Vheels, o f which the following is a f ull, clear, and exact description, such as will enable others skilled in the art to which it 'appertains Vto make and use the same, reference being had 'to the accompanyingdrawings, forming part of this specification,'in Which- Y Figure 1 Vis a side elevation of a vehicle wheel constructed in accordance `with my invention, parts being broken away for illus- Fig. 2 is a section taken approximately on the linev 2-2 of Fig. 1. Fig. 3 is a perspective view of the hub and guide bars of my vehicle wheel. Fig. 4 is .a detail section illustrating a modified `f ,o'rm

of the wheel wherein an inatable member is made use `of in forming the sectional rim.

Fig. 5 is a perspective view of one of the metallic tread sect-ions which formsy anV armor for-the elastic rimsectiom Fig v6` is a perspective view of a portion of a moditied form of the metal tread section. Fig. 7 is a perspective' view of one of the rigid supporting plates or guide bars forming a part of the. wheel.

elastic or ijniatable segments.

-' .,-My invention relates toi a vehicle wheelparticularly intended for use on auto trucks,

Fig. 8 is a fragmentary `-section illustrating a modified arrangement or like vehiclesused for heavy hauling, although the wheel with slightmodifications "Fand'chang'es inV size `can bead'vantageously j lmatic tires, 'which during *service are always susceptibleto puncture.` 5* 1 @dass with .wh

4used lon theyordinarytypes "of automobiles fandlight-weightivehicles.' "'epf 1"; ill-he"K principal-obj ect of #to construct'awvheelfhaiiingfal sectionalfrim i or `tread "portion "made Vu`p1` of-fa series ofi 'which' arrangement ifsinecessaryto permit armored segments of resilientl f material thereby doing yaway 'fwith'f expensive `pneube assembled;

if ther-"objectief my'flnventioil"isv to# l produce' a 'vehicle `wheel"whichf' `is''chafracter- -iz'ed .by 'great resiliency, "strengthfsimplicity of construction, `duraloil-ity of its rimportionf hfthev ious parts may adjacent its ends with annularV flanges 2.

Fixed in anysuitable manner to the ianges 2 and projecting radially from thehub is a series of rigid guide bars 3 in the `form of plates, and the facesy of these plates are ,grooved longitudinally to reduce the area of the wearing surfaces thereof, and consequently minimize the friction between "said, plates and the movable parts which engage the faces of said plates. Fixed to -the i'anges 2 between the inner ends of thel rigid" v guide bars 3 are radially-arranged block's'll and hinged in any suitable manner to the outer ends of these blocks are the inner ends of plates, 5, which form the swinging orl Vibrating guide bars of the wheel.

6 designates side plates. in the form of rings, which are fixed in any suitable man- I nerto the rigid guide vbars 3 and formed integral with the outer edges ofthese plates are inwardly projecting viianges -7.'.

'ly-8 designatesJ blocks of elastic material suchl as rubber, which blocks `are segmental inform and fit snugly between the outer portionsofl the guide blars' and 5. Fitted `upon the outer,l portions-of -vthese -elastic:v

blocks are shoes* or tread' plates 9, 4and -formedfintegral'fwith 'thesides thereof are plates 10 which extend between the outer edges of the plates 6. Formed` on the inner engagethe` flangesl 7 on: said plates 6. The

A'tlie Aspace :between'ithelouterf portions-'of an adjacent? pair..A of: the -guidef bars 1113 and-` 5 the tread? platesorvslmes 'tomoveinwardly when vthe"elasticfblocksarecompressed; 'Located beneath' each"VQ elastic ffblo'clr 8; is` a foll-lower plate 12',` and :interposed .between each f compression s i" 1 Thesespri-rigs'` inormally 'maintainy ithel elastic Vblocks and' Afthe y v#shoes carried' thereby' at their outenlimit :of movement with ftheifianges' "11 against-the Vflanges 7, and said -jsp'ringstendv tof-oppose .plates il() are inflengthslightlyshorterI than A.

any movement of the elastic blocks toward the hub of the wheel, which movement naturally occurs while the wheel is in service, and the shoes on the elastic block successively engage the surface over which the wheel is traveling.

I prefer to form the plate 9 imperforate, as shown in Fig. 5, and where such construction is carried out the outer surface of said plate is corrugated or provided with a series of shallow depressions 14, which form a gripping surface and prevent skidding or slipping of the wheel while the same is in service.

In Fig. 6 I have shown the shoe provided In the construction illustrated in Fig. 4-

an inflatable member 18 takes the place of the elastic block 8, and said inflatable member is provided in one vside with a valve 19 which projects through a slot 20 formed in one of the side plates 6, thus providing` means for introducing air under pressure inwardly a short distance toward the center l'of the wheel.v In so doing the block or rubber insideysaid shoe will be 'compressed to a certain degree, and'at the same timeI into the member 18.

When the wheel is in use the shoes or tread plates 9 successively engage the surfacefo the wheel is traveling, and as each shoe conttacts Iwith the groundv said shoe will move the corresponding springs 13 will be slightly compressed and thus the load carried b'y theaxle and transmitted to the hub of the wheel is yieldingly supported as the wheel trav? erses the ground.` As the elastic blocks are compressed they will tend -to expand* lengthwise and, therefore, themforce of expansion will be directed .fimmediately against the' rigid and hinged guide bars.

rigid guide bars 3 in order to provide avlelding support' for one end of each elastict blOfk and which yielding support gives slightly whenthe elastic block is forced inward and compressed. This arrangement overcomes any tendency of the shoes or tread plates and the elastic blocks to wedge when moved inward during the movement of the the ground or pavement over which,

wheel over the surface of the ground or pavement, and which wheel is supporting a heavy load.

From the foregoing description it will be seen that I have provided a simple, strong and durable vehicle wheel which overcomes the disadvantages arising from the use of ordinary pneumatic tires, and at the same time have provided a wheel which is amply resilient forV all practical purposes, and which wheel is particularly adapted for heavy vehicles, such as motor delivery trucks and the like.

The resilient elements in' the form of the elastic blocks are practically indestructible inasmuch as they are protected from wear bythe metallic shoes' and in case of repair any of the parts of the wheel can be readily removed and replaced by new parts.

It Will be noted that a wheel constructed as herein described and shown does not contain any spokes, has no felly, and no continuous outer rim. The yielding or elastic segments form a sectional rim, and said segments are held inplace by the compression springs of the proper tension, thereby insuring the requisite degree of resiliency. A wheel constructed as described is exceptionally strong and yenables the builders of automobiles and auto trucks to utilize comparatively heavy engines and frames of ample weight and strength besides permitting the wheels to be spaced farther apart than under ordinary circumstances, thus providing for longer trucks or vehicles.

I claim:

1. In avehicle wheel, a hub, a series of radially arranged plates carried by the hub,

arranged between the outer ends of the f plates to form the rim of the wheel, and

,means attached to the xed radially arranged plates for limiting the lateral and outward movements of thearmored elastic members.

2. In a vehicle wheel, a hub, a series of radially arranged plates carried by said hub, certain of which plates are yieldingly 4mounted on the hub, armored elastic members'arranged between the outer ends of the As hereinbefore stated there are slight spaces between the ends of the side plates 10 and the guide bars- 3 and 5, and thisA con-- platesand forming therim ofthe wheel, yielding members arranged between said elastic. members and the wheel hub, and

means on the sides of the wheel for limiting thlateral and outward movements of members form the rim of the wheel 4. In a vehicle wheel, a. hub,.'a -series of radially arranged plates rigidly fixed to .13o

` the side plates.

the hub, radially arranged plates hinged to the hub between the rigid plates, elastic members arranged between the outer ends of the plates vand tread plates on said elastic members.

5. In a vehicle wheel, a hub, a series of radially arranged plates rigidlyfixed to the hub, radially arranged plates hinged to the hub between the rigid plates, elastic members arranged between the outer ends of the plates, tread plates on said elastic members, and yielding pressure means located between the elastic blocks and the wheel hub.

6. In a vehicle wheel the combination with a hub and a series of radially arranged plates carried by said hub, certain of which plates are .yieldingly mounted, of a sectional wheel rim comprising a series of segmental elastic members independent-ly mounted between the outerends of the plates, a follower plate beneath each segmental elastic member, and a spring interposed between each follower plate, and the wheel hub.

7. In a vehicle wheel a hub, radially arranged plates carried by said hub, certain of which plates are hinged to the hub, side plates fixed to the rigidl plates and sectional rimV members yieldlngly Amounted in the spaces between the outer ends of the radially arranged plates 8. In avehicleiwhe'el, a hub, a series of radlally arranged plates carried by said hub,

. a seriesof platesalternately arranged between the-rst mentioned series of plates, and which second'mentloned series of platesare Y hinged to the'hub, side plates fixed to the -rigid plates, sectional rim-members yieldv.lngly mounted in the spaces between the outer ends ofz'the radially arranged plates and the outer -portions of the side plates, and

yieldlng pressure means located between thesectional rim members andthe wheel hub.

l 9. In a vehicle wheel, the combination with a hub, of a sectional rim comprising a series of segmental elastic blocks, and a series of alternately arranged rigidly fixed and hinged supporting .plates carried by and and the outer` portions of projecting radially from the hub, against which plates the elastic blocks engage.

` l0. In a Vehicle wheel, the combination .with a hub, of a sectional rim comprising a series of segmental elastic blocks, supporting plates carried by and projecting radially from vthe hub, against which plates the elastic blocks engage, and certain of which radially arranged plates are pivotally connected to the hub.

11. In a Vehiclewheel the combination with a hub, of a sectional rim comprising a series of segmental elastic blocks supporting members radially arranged around the hub and extending between the ends of the segmental elastic members, each alternate supporting member being hinged to the wheel hub, yielding pressure means between the hub and` the elastic members for nor mally forcing the same outward, and means 'for limiting the outward movement of the segmental members.

12. In a Vehicle wheel, a hub, a series of plates carried by and radially arranged around the hub, certain of which plates are hinged, resilient armored segmental sections arranged between the outer portions of the plates, and which resilient segmental sections are .equal in Width to the width of the radially arranged plates.

13. In a vehicle wheel, a hub, a series of plates carried by and radially arranged around the hub, certain of which plates are hinged, resilient armored segmental sec- /t'ions arranged between the outer portions of the plates, which resilient segmental sections are equalin width to the width of the raldially' arranged plates, means for limiting the outward movement of the segmental sections, and yielding pressure means arranged between the hub and the segmental sections.

In testimony whereof I hereunto aiix' my signature in the presence of two witnesses, rthis`3rd day of September, 1910.

FRANKLIN A. FROMMANN. Witnesses:

M. P. SMITH,

B. S. REID. 

